So, Jacob had his matie round for the weekend and I suggested to them that we go out to Beaulieu Motor Musuem, Palace House and Abbey..... this place is nestled in the heart of the New Forest and is only just under an hours drive away.....
It is the best motor musuem in the whole world.... :) and I love it, not only cos of the vehicles but cos of the history of the family that own it and still live in the Palace House.....
http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/motormuseum/introduction.cfm
Ya can get a feel for it on the above sight....
Well Jacob and his matie jumped at the chance, Brad (Jacobs friend) aint never been there before, so it was a first for him.....
So..... we packed a lunch (cos these places are sooooo expensive to buy lunch at) with loads of drinks and munchies and headed off towards the New Forest.... its a doddle to get to and I didnt even get lost once, which is also a first for me lol
We even took some little cakes in honour of Sharkies birthday :)...
This was the ticket to get in.... well bloody expensive if ya ask me lol
Beaulieu is the home of Lord Montagu and the lord often wanders around his estate, and in the summer there are outside exhibitions and rides on old cars etc, but that comes at a price.... in the summer the place is heaving with tourists and visitors and I DONT do crowds LOL.... so going this time of year on a sunny warm spring like day was just right..... just a splattering of visitors.... perfect...
Before we went into the building to see all the cars etc, we had a ride on the mono-rail that goes around the estate and through the top of the car building.... ya know, boys are never to old to enjoy a mono-rail ride lol..
Even though it dont look it, we was about 15-20 feet up in the air..... the little ride takes ya around the estate and ya can use it like a railway train and get off at Palace house to save ya walking there, but we just did the round trip, BUT... as we passed the gardeners cottages in the middle of the estate we spied a pen with huge chickens in.... I said... when we walk to Palace House we will go find the chickens - cos I LOVE CHICKENS - so it couldnt of been more perfect (more later on that lol)..
This is my Jacob and his matie Brad at the entrance to the building that houses all the amazing cars and superbikes and bicycles..... they hated me making them pose for the picture LOL.... they will fank me when they are older and have these photo memories to show their children...
Once inside their eyes lit up, there are some of the oldest restored cars in the whole world there, beautiful... and also many doodle cars... and record breaking cars like The Bluebird which in its day broke the land speed record.... its just a wonderful mouth opening place...
Mummy said SMILE lmfao...
This is that doodle broad Marlena Detrias (however is bloody spelt) car... it was drop dead gorgious....
Whilst we was in Maine during the summer, me matie Sharkie taught my Jacob how to ride antique Penny Farthings....Sharkie has a passion for antique bikes, especially Penny Farthings, oh that boy just so loved it and the time that Sharkie spent with him..... and one of the main reasons for going to Beaulieu for the day was of course Sharkies Birthday, and I knew there was something very special there that he would LOVE if he was with us that day.....
So Sharkie, this one is especially for you matie......Happy Birthday..
This is only the oldest BIGGEST penny farthing ever made, and this is the ONLY one left in the whole wide world... pretty special aye? :)
Heres the gumpfff that goes with the bike.....
There were many Penny Farthings scattered around the place and one just left against the fire exit lol..... ok, so I climbed over the rope to snap the above picture....but it was for a good course, its me maties birthday trip lol
I took so many many photos of the many bikes, just way to many to post here.....
Boys are so easy to bribe with a promise of a go on the simulator if ya pose infront of that car lol...
True to me word, 2 quid each and a chance to drive a simulator sports car lol... and they thought it would be a doddle lol WRONG :)
We made our way all around the musuem, stopping and looking in wonder at the beautiful cars of a bygone era.. and old double decker buses from when I was a kid... right up to the top new Formula one racing cars of today.... its a great day out, and I promise if I ever get a doodle visitor I will take ya there....
This was a picture on the wall lol I made me boy stand next to it lmfao....
Time for lunch....
We took our own grub but sat outside at the tables of the cafe place that was there, in the sunshine..... the boys did go and order a plate of chips to go with there sarnies... I didnt mind that..... it was such a warm day that inside the building they had their coats on, but outside in the sunshine Jacob just had on a T-Shirt lol crazy right for January......
Proof lmfao...
Whilst they went to order their chips I took a photo of me bag that was on the table LMFAO..... DONT ask me why, I just did..... have camera will snap :)...
This bags just about sums me up lmfao.....
So.....we came out the building with the cars and started to make our way towards Palace House.... remembering about the chickens we had seen from the mono-rail... we scouted about and couldnt for the life of us find where they could be..... we were confronted by a tallish hedge and undergrowth.... if ya listened real carefully ya could hear 'chickens'... so with Jacob and Brad in the lead we scrambled through the undergrowth and squeezed through the hedge and came out the other side smack bang next to a big chicken pen, with the BIGGEST chickens we had ever seen, and what appeared to be someones garden LOL... cos there was a swingset and climbing frame on the lawned area.... the chickens came up to the low fence to greet us, thats when we saw laying in the corner of the pen A DEAD PIDGEON... yuck, it had been pecked by the chickens.... ewwwwwww...
We began giving the chickens bits of what was left of our sarnies, when we heard a rather cross and loud voice...... EXCUSE ME this is private and you have NO RIGHT to be here...... bloody hell, it was only the head gardeners kid, she was about 12...... oh, I said, we were just curious about the chickens that we saw from the mono-rail....... GET OUT she screamed this is private, DONT make me go and get my father....... ok, Mel, think..... we have squeezed through the hedge onto private property and they could well lob out out of the estate and I aint seen Palace house or the Abbey yet LOL....... so I says.... did you know there is a dead pidgeon in your chicken pen and that is highly dangerous and very illegal (I had no clue as to whether either of these statments were true lol)...... where she replied....... there in the corner I said......... well, its still private here and Im going to call my father..........I wouldnt do that I say, and I pull out of me bag me credit card LOL and I says...... holding it up (she was about 25 foot from us and obviously didnt know it was a credit card and not Pidgeon Police ID).... this is a card to say I am a member of 'The Pidgeon Police' and I have a right to investigate all dead pidgeons found in chicken pens, especially those spotted from mono-rails (what the hell was I saying lmfao)..... so if I was you I wouldnt get your father unless you want me to arrest him...... anyways, make sure you take the dead pidgeon out of the pen and I will NOT report you this time...... with that Jacob says.... mum lets just leg it and he and Brad scramble back through the hedge leaving me standing there on me own LMFAO..... so, be warned I say, we will be back to check, and I turn tail and scramble through the hedge to find Jacob and Brad laffing on the other side...... it was just so funny..... but it saved our bacon and we didnt get lobbed out of the estate....
This is the entrance to the house, the Montagu family live in most of it and open just a tiny snippet of it to visitors, with the old orignal kitchens from yonks ago.... and I LOVES me a bit of history especially old houses....
Part of the Abbey where the monks lived.... this part is all intact and restored, where as the actual Abbey was destroyed and is only the ruins on show....
This is the little original chapel that the villages of Beaulieu village use each Sunday, it was very very pretty inside.... ya have to cross the moat from the village to the estate to get to it.....
These are the cloisters where the monks would of walked around and contemplated life.....
And how could I not buy the mug in the picture below lol..... it was in the kitchen gift shop...... usually gift shops in tourist places are well naff, but this one was just lovely..... so I bought it as a memory of the day and the Pidgeon Police, unlike the memories of the day that I will stack on the shelves of me mind, this mug will be stacked on me shelves in me kitchen cupboard :)
Its Fine English Bone China ya know :)
So we went home tired out, knackered beyond belief, but a lovely beautiful day we had......
So Sharkie..... Im glad ya little birthday parcel arrived in time for your special day, and I hope you have enjoyed your birthday treat out via my words and photos..... HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY DEAR FRIEND..... love you...
Enuff Twaddle for a Sunday TeaTime..... did anyone make it down this far? LOL
(all photos were taken on me camera)
x










